Barry’s Bootcamp Review + Weekly Workouts

byJen DeCurtinsonAugust 16, 2015

While I was in New York City I had the opportunity to finally check out a Barry’s Bootcamp class after hearing about it for years. This trendy workout blends cardio and strength for a killer hour-long workout. I was eager to see what all of the hype was about. You’ll find Barry’s Bootcamp in big cities like LA, NYC, Boston, Miami, London and more.

So let me walk you through the experience from start to finish. We signed up for our class online ahead of time. We’d hear that classes fill quickly so we booked it as soon as classes for the week opened up. You choose whether you want to start on the treadmill for cardio or on the floor for strength. We chose treadmill. Personally, I always prefer to start with cardio to warm up.

We arrived about 15 minutes early for our class and checked in with the front desk. After placing our things in a locker (which featured digital locks), we attempted to go into the studio to get set up for class. We were kindly instructed that we were not allowed in until the instructor invited us in. All good, I totally get it but definitely pointed out our newbie status! 🙂

Our instructor for the class was Matty he was friendly and had great energy. We got all set up and he made a point to come visit anyone there for the first time and gave us a little pep talk.

Once class started we spent the first 10 minutes of class on the treadmill doing speed intervals. We broke and headed to the floor for 10 minutes of dumbbell strength. Apparently the strength portion of the workout can also feature med balls, resistance bands, bodyweight and other equipment. After the first strength interval we headed back to the treadmill for 10 minutes of incline intervals and then back to the floor for 10 minutes of strength, abs and cool down.

The hour flew by. The room was dark and cool but I was sweating quickly. I loved the loud music and how structured the class was. I felt like we were constantly switching up our speed or incline on the treadmill and we didn’t do any of the strength exercises for more than a minute. It kept me very engaged.

By the end of the class I had run almost three miles and gotten in a total body workout. It felt great to get so much done in an hour.

Outside of the studio you’ll find a smoothie board with a variety of protein shakes.

Everything at Barry’s Bootcamp is branded, from the water bottles…

To signature candles.

And the locker rooms were very clean and minimalist with concrete floors, subway tile and neutral clean colors.

– Clean, fresh, branded environment.
– Engaging instructors with a lot of personality.
– Intense studio setting with low lighting and loud music.
– Ability to scale for all levels by controlling the speed/incline on your treadmill and weight of dumbbells. This makes it accessible for all fitness levels in one class.
– Team-focused atmosphere. We were encouraged to set goals when things got intense on the treadmill by sharing our speed goals with our neighbors and we worked in teams on the floor for abs.
– Effective and efficient strength and cardio workout in under an hour.
– Barry’s Bootcamp alternates the strength focus depending on the day of the week so there are set upper body, lower body and total body days.

Considerations:

– It’s expensive. A drop-in in NYC is $35, a 10 class pass is $32 and a 20 class pass is $600 so you’re looking at $30 a class no matter what.
– It’s running-focused. While they do market themselves to be accessible to those who don’t identify themselves as runners, it’s still a running intensive workout. If you have injuries that prevent you from running or you just don’t love to run, this is a major consideration. I don’t think the workout would be nearly as effective/intense without the running.
– The strength exercises are explained very quickly as it’s time to start doing them. If you’re new, give yourself some time to get the hang of it. Even as a trainer myself, I accepted that there were some things I just wasn’t going to master in the 60 seconds I had to do it. – It’s big. My class could hold around 40 people so with one instructor, you’re not going to get a lot of one-on-one coaching.
– There are mirrors everywhere. All of the walls are mirrored. It’s a little weird to stare at yourself while you’re grinding through treadmill intervals.

Looks like a great workout! Kinda reminds me of Orangetheory in a way. I am open to trying classes that are priced that high, but would probably only purchase a package if it was the cost-effective way to go. $600 for a 20-class package is crazy to me!

Sounds very similar to Orange Theory, minus the heart rate monitor. OT is very running focused and that’s the hardest part of the workout (for me at least). People do walk on an incline, so there is some scaling in that sense. There is a Barry’s in Miami so I want to try it sometime this semester!

Barry’s has been around since 1998 so they came before OT. Although OT has many, many more locations and reach than Barry’s. I think OT also includes HRM tracking and rower intervals. I’ll let ya know my thoughts once I try it out!

$30.00 seems high for a class, but they are in the major cities and if the classes are packed then I guess the price isn’t a issue…Thanks for sharing this review! It is always fun to learn about other classes. Good to know what is out there!

I go to Barry’s in London, and for me the major drawback is indeed the price – £20 for a single class, £700 for a 50 class pack and a whooping £280 for a monthly membership! As a nurse that’s waaay too pricey really, but seeing exercise is my hobby I treat mysefl to one class a week…. It is a great class (especially if you like me love to run!) and the instructors are great at building report with the participants, but the price is definitely a tad juicy.

I'm Jen and I'm a personal trainer, yoga teacher and the author of Ultimate Plank Fitness and The Complete Guide to Yoga Inversions. I live in Charlotte, NC and share daily updates about food, fitness, yoga and life with two golden retrievers! You can reach me at jen@peanutbutterrunner.com.